


like a lotus flower in full bloom (even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong)

by YuccaBloomsWhite



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Bad Parenting, Child Abuse, Child Neglect (past), F/M, Family Issues, Fear of Red (Erythrophobia), Gen, Genderswap, Haruno Sakura-centric, Male Haruno Sakura, Misandry, Misogyny, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strong Haruno Sakura, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24004681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuccaBloomsWhite/pseuds/YuccaBloomsWhite
Summary: During Team 7 introduction:“My name is Haruno Renge, some may call me Sakura, don’t let that confuse you. I enjoy playing shogi with Shikamaru and reading, I hate my…(he swallows instead of saying parents) I hate being called Sakura (and henge-ing into her, but he didn’t need to say that) and color red, my hobbies are reading, training, or playing shogi, I guess. My dreams… to become a chunin and live alone?”
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura & Tsunade, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Karin/Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 6
Kudos: 111





	1. Haruno Sakura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renge always wondered when it had all gone wrong.

Haruno Sakura was born in spring, the season of life, beauty, and love. She had verdant green eyes and unique soft pink hair. Her skin was white and cheeks rosy, her smile a field of cherry blossoms and her laughter ringing bells. She was the embodiment of happiness, kindness, and purity. Her parents loved her— _worshiped_ her. In their eyes, she was a treasure, a gift from gods, their _only_ child.

(Nevermind that Haruno Renge also had green eyes, a shade darker than his sister's. Nevermind that he also had garishly pink hair that kids picked on and called girly. Nevermind that he was the pale of unhealthiness, the thin of malnourishment. His own name was supposed to mean pure, holy, but to his parents, he was like lotus roots—forever underwater, invisible, unworthy of being looked at, cared for.)

* * *

Renge always wondered when it had all gone wrong. If he ever got a chance to correct his wrongs, would things be different? If he could go back to the past and change some people's choices, would the world be a better place (for him)?

If he could go back to a decade ago?

No. Haruno Daigo was too stubborn, too self-opinionated to consider others' words. Nothing would shake his firm belief that men were always better than women, and therefore, the lazy and egoistical son made a better choice of successor than the hardworking and clever daughter.

His son's death didn't stop him from giving Haruno Mebuki an ultimatum, to either marry and give birth to a son, or forget about inheriting anything from Haruno business. He personally named his grandson 'Haruno Renge,' and proclaimed the newborn as his heir. His death brought many consequences, among which was Haruno Renge's change of position from one of the beloved heir to the one of an unwanted child.

If he could go 4 years back and prevent Haruno Sakura from being born?

No, he _couldn't_ do that. His sister, for all her love and attention-stealing, had also been the light of his life. She had been the reason he willingly endured his parents' indifference and mistreatment. She was too _innocent_ to be killed—she was too _pure_ and _kind_ to deny the world of her existence. (She was better than everything Renge ever was, better than everything she could ever be.)

If he could go back to that day—the day he lost Sakura?

Maybe. No, surely. If she were still here, Mebuki at least wouldn't call _him_ 'Sakura.'

* * *

He still remembered the day as it was yesterday. The 10th of October. Their parents being out of Konohagakure on a business trip. Their ninja caretaker taking them to Nine-Tails Festival.

 _“Don’t lose her, okay? I’m going just over there_ — _See? That cart with yellow lanterns, yes. I’m just going to say hello and be right back. You can wait here for a moment, right? And no speaking of this to your parents, or no candies for you.”_

_Renge nodded, gingerly holding the hand of his 2 years younger sister, Sakura. The girl had her mouth full of candies, lips and chin glossy with syrup, fingers sticky with sugar. Her smile was bright as she waved bye-bye to their supposed caretaker who hurried over to the cart with yellow lanterns and accepted a cup of drink from red-faced and hiccup men. Renge was thirsty too, but he knew better than tp approach the group._

_“Wanna go to the water fountain?” he asked Sakura. She nodded, gurgling something as an answer._

_On their way to the west of the district, the **Incident** happened._

_Some shinobi, dissatisfied with reparations after Nine-Tails’ Incident, ‘those red-eyes bastards not paying anything’ and ‘Hokage daring to make a festival out of tragedy’ decided to show their resentment in the middle of the festivities. Explosive tags activated, dust and smoke rose, people started screaming and chaos ensued. The few members of the Police Force and other shinobi on duty were desperately trying to ensure the order, calm the crowd, and arrest the troublemakers, but the panicked mass was unrestrainable._

_“’m scared, Renge-niichan! Where’s Mama?” Sakura sniffed._

_“We’ll find her, I promise!” Renge shouted his reply over the deafening screams and sounds of explosion._

_But the crowd pushed, pulled and ran without order, the carts rolled and objects dropped littering the ground, weapons flew and blood dripped—and Renge lost the grip on that tiny hand._

_“Sakura!” he screamed in panic._

_He felt like he heard a cry of ‘Renge-niichan!’ from his left. Even bigger chaos was there, and Renge could see and hear clashes of steel, explosions, and **ninja**._

_‘But Sakura’s there!’ he told himself and shouted: “I’m coming, Sakura! Don’t move!”_

_Renge began crawling under the legs of people. He received a fair amount of unintentional kicks, got stepped on a few times, someone even flung a kunai mistaking him as the enemy. But no matter how much he suffered and searched, he couldn’t find that head of pink hair anywhere_ , _only the torn pieces of pink yukatas, abandoned bags and wigs. By firelight and smoke, blonde and white also appeared pink, pink, red, **red**._

_One rough shove and he flew into a stall, hitting his head on the support pillar. The unstable structure creaked loudly and began to collapse on top of still dizzy and bleary-eyed Renge. He saw the beams fall in slow motion when they suddenly stopped mere inches from his face. A large hand grabbed him by his shoulder and lifted him out of the rubble like he weighed nothing._

_"Fuck, you got a death wish, kid? Watcha doin' here? Gekkou, catch!"_

_Renge found himself flying once again then caught by another person. The man—the teenager—settled him gently to the ground and crouched to be on eye level as him._

_"You're safe now, kid. Do you know where your parents are? No? You took quite a few hits, but seems nothing's broken. Let me take you to the hospital, they will take care of you and inform your parents, okay?"_

_The teenager talked calmly, exuding warmth and safety. But Renge couldn't go with him yet, not without Sakura._

_"No, I must find Sakura—help me find her, please? My sister, she needs me!"_

_"We need to treat your wounds first. Don't worry about your sister, she'll be fine. She's probably already in safety!"_

_"No, she called for me—I need to go, **let me go** — **LET ME GO** —"_

_"Damn Gekkou, just knock 'im out! Shit—fucking rebels—drop that kid off and shunshin back!"_

_The teenager looked at his superior, at the ongoing battles and flying weapons, finally at Renge and made his decision._

_"I'm sorry, kid—"_

_Before Renge could do anything, the world blacked out._

***

_“Where is Sakura, Renge! Where is my daughter?” Mebuki screamed at him, unseeing of the bandages covering his body._

_He couldn’t reply._

***

_They told Renge a 3-year-old pink-haired girl was found beaten purple and bloody and **dead**. They told him Yuki Minazuki (their caretaker) was one of the rebels and was killed during the chaos. They told him his mother fainted and was being taken care of by his father. They told him he was discharged and could go home (alone)._

_(After that day, Renge often dreamed of the **red** sky, tall black figures looming and stepping over him, of suffocating presences pressing down and slowing his desperate run while in the distance he heard his little sister calling 'Renge-niichan, 'm here!' Countless nights he spent triggered, awake, sleep gone and never returning.)_

_Mebuki was discharged a day after him. She came home and called 'Sakura, sweetheart!' and nobody replied, nobody was supposed to. But she took shaken steps towards Renge, gripped his shoulders tight, her fingers painfully digging into his flesh. She_ hugged _him (when was the last time she did this?) and said:_

_"Sakura, sweetheart, I missed you!"_

_(Years would pass before Mebuki called him 'Renge' again.)_

_When he looked beyond Mebuki's trembling shoulders, he saw Kizashi standing there, seeing him, Renge, not Sakura, but deciding against speaking._

* * *

Renge always wondered when it had all gone wrong. His life could hardly be called the worst _—_ he had his parents, wealthy merchants, grew up without having to beg or steal for food (nevermind how often he went to sleep hungry before he was _Sakura_ ), had his parents' support to pursue whatever he wanted (everything for _Sakura-chan_ ), and he was loved (as _Sakura_ ). But he also knew his life wasn't the prettiest, especially when he had to answer to the name— _Sakura_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's my first work here on AO3 so I'm a little confused but finally I posted my first chapter! Got inspired by random pictures on pinterest of genderbent Naruto characters, and male version of Haruno Sakura looked too cool to ignore (and male Sakura fics are rare, so...)
> 
> For title I searched random quotes about lotus and found the one I liked (by Masaru Emoto, Secret Life of Water). I have no idea what's the actual book about.
> 
> 'Haruno Sakura' of this story is not Haruno Sakura of canon. She's but a plot element I added to complicate Renge's psyche (I'm evil and love suffering after all).
> 
> For those who aren't aware, Yuki Minazuki's an existing character in Naruto. He's jonin sensei of Itachi's genin team, a mean guy who's jealous of talented kids. He's the one who refused to recommend Itachi for Chunin Exams for 3 years so Itachi became Chunin at age 10, although he graduated at 7. He needed to be alive only till Itachi's Chunin promotion so I found fit to conveniently kill him now.
> 
> 17\. August 2020. Edit:
> 
> I rewrote the first chapter, changing some words and sentences and adding a few paragraphs that are entirely unnecessary for understanding the story but I just felt like writing them. I also edited notes because I realized I wrote 1. too much 2. plot points I haven't even written yet am I crazy??
> 
> I haven't forgotten this work (and the other). Just have been busy with life, lost a will to write, got horrified with what I already wrote etc. (excuses, excuses). No promises about when the next chapter's coming.


	2. Haruno Renge (I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A crowd formed around the boy and the shopkeeper, people doing nothing but watching and whispering among themselves. Renge crept up a little to check them, only to be thoroughly alarmed, and at the same time, perturbed. The faces looking at the kid were filled with hatred and contempt. Just what had the blonde done to warrant such emotions?

_“Sweetie, you’ve grown whole 2 inches taller! A big girl, aren’t you, Sakura-chan? Oh, but now your favorite dresses are a bit small for you. Pity, I know you really loved this one!” Mebuki ardently chattered, picking up one of Sakura’s dresses._

_She didn’t seem to notice how Renge’s face grew paler on the sight of_ **_red_** _, and how his eyes darted to avoid looking at the offending piece of clothing. The multiple mirrors in the room certainly didn’t help his cause. Ignoring his quickening breath, Renge focused on Mebuki’s face and tried to blur the contours of everything else. He could still see red, but it was mellower. Mixed with others colors, it reminded him of a rainbow—Sakura loved rainbows. He could already breathe easier._

_(Sakura loved many things. She loved rainbows, she loved candies, she loved turtles and other souvenirs brought from Mebuki and Kizashi’s business trips. She also loved sleeping with windows open, where she could see the sky. She also loved watching her Renge-niichan do a play with her dolls and stuffed toys. She loved—)_

_“Is there something on my face, Sakura?”_

_The name startled Renge out of his thoughts. He then realized he had been staring—not actually, but it may have appeared so—for quite some time. Mebuki’s gaze held no reproach or anything similar, but he felt himself shrinking under it._

_“No, I was—just thinking.”_

_“What did you think about?”_

_(Was it wrong to feel the urge to hide, when her face was nothing but encouraging?)_

_“_ _I…want to be tall?” Renge uncertainly replied with the first thing that popped in his mind._

_“Silly, you will grow taller as you age.” Mebuki chuckled fondly._

_“Oh.”_

_“But you grew a lot since two weeks ago, so you should be the tallest among your friends! Cheer up, Sakura-chan!”_

_The ‘sudden’ growth spurt was the matter of the whole year and a half, not mere two weeks as Mebuki seemed to believe. Renge was still the shortest among his agemates, and someone even told him he looked a year or two younger. But he was hardly going to correct Mebuki, so he replied with a soft ‘un.’_

_(The books said he required a balanced diet, regular exercise, and good sleeping habits in order to grow. Before, he would’ve given up hope to ever reach his full height, but now he was fed regular meals three times a day and given additional snacks—if he sometimes ate too much and felt bloated, well—but soon Mebuki would realize he wasn’t—but what if—)_

_“What about this one, Sakura? It was slightly big the last time you’ve tried it on, but now, maybe it’ll fit?” Mebuki lifted another dress to show him. (It was_ ** _red_ ** _again, like the flames that night when he crawled under the legs, and he could almost smell the tang of_ ** _blood_** _—oh he couldn’t_ ** _breathe_** _—)_

 _“No,” he mouthed a weak protest as the_ **_red_ ** _neared him._

 _“No,” he voiced it louder when Mebuki pulled his arms up and lifted the_ **_red_ ** _closer._

_“No?” Mebuki questioned._

_Renge didn’t answer. His lungs felt heavy, every breath he took so laborious. Black spots appeared in his vision, and his knees buckled. He fell to his butt while clutching his chest and wheezing. (_ ** _Red_ ** _was swirling around him,_ **_red_ ** _was creeping towards him, the **r**_ ** _ed_ ** _hands reached to drag him away)_

_While Renge was suffering a quite severe anxiety attack, Mebuki merely stared at him with an unreadable expression. “Red, huh,” she muttered before putting the dress out of sight. She then continued watching him, not moving to help him in the slightest, aside from removing the cause of the attack. As the breathing evened and he gradually calmed down, her eyes flashed a vicious glint that disappeared as quickly as it appeared._

_“You should’ve told me if you didn’t like that dress, sweetie.” She said smilingly when Renge finally looked at her. He was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, to even remotely feel anger or disappointment at her words. (He already knew—for a long time—that she didn't care for him)_

_“Let’s go shopping this afternoon, shall we? I’ll help you choose your new dresses! Now downstairs—I’ve got to prepare lunch.”_

_She left Renge sitting on the floor of Sakura’s closet, surrounded by the piles of Sakura’s clothes and thousand reflections of the same clothes and the same boy in the mirrors. Distantly he could hear Mebuki cheerfully informing Kizashi of their plans for afternoon and lunch menu._

_Four hours later, Renge ended up with a completely new garderobe, entirely consisting of clothes for girls (for Sakura). Mebuki had a good eye for fashion—insight honed by her occupation—so every piece she bought looked as if tailor-made for him. Renge might’ve felt touched by her willingness to spend so much for him (for this weird play where he was Sakura) if he didn’t notice there was at least one red item of every type._

_(_ **_Sakura loved the red_ ** _)_

 _The next day, he awoke in Sakura’s bed, tucked in her favorite blanket, in his arms her beloved Mr._ **_Red_ ** _Bunny (_ ** _red, red, red_** _)_ _. The door to his room was locked. In the evening, he found a box full of his things under Sakura’s bed (not his clothes though). When he went to Kizashi (because Mebuki wouldn’t do this) to thank him, he received a single ‘_ ** _Behave_** _.'_

* * *

‘ **Why are we hiding, Renge? We should just punch them in the faces! They deserve it for making fun of us!** ’

The voice screeched at Renge, but he merely made a wry smile while crouching even lower behind a trash container in the dark alley. The smell was revolting, some of the trash threatened to fall on his head, and he was standing on some unidentifiable _squishy_ paste. Still, he found this all easier to endure than another round of ‘jus’ playing’ with bullies.

Sakura, however, seemed to have a differing opinion and was loudly expressing it.

‘I can’t, Sakura. They will just hurt us more.’ He tried reasoning, but Sakura became even more agitated.

‘ **Shannaro! They may hurt our body but not our minds! Show them who’s the boss!** ’

Sometimes Renge wondered where did she get her unshakeable confidence. That was the part of her he liked, though. She was loud and strong, where he was quiet and weak. She was brash and confident, where he was timid and cautious. She was his opposite—she was the _better_ one. (She was Sakura, she was _perfect_ )

Ever since Mebuki began forcing him into her role over a year ago, he had tried best to fit—tried to act like her, speak like her, love the same things she loved, enjoy the same activities she enjoyed. But more he tried, further he was from _perfection_. While Sakura in his mind evolved, _bloomed_ , he merely stayed a bud, underwater.

Now he was a weird boy always wearing dresses, a regular target of local bullies, and a nerd-booklover. Nothing like charming flower Sakura became _~~was supposed to~~_.

‘I’m not like you, Sakura. I’m too weak to act. And they’re right,’ he added after a thought. ‘I am a freak.’

‘ **We’re not—** '

“Get OUT!”

The sudden shout startled Renge so much he almost fell on his butt (and the squishy paste, yuck). He hurriedly checked to see if he was the target and let out a relieved sigh upon noting he wasn’t. Well, it wasn’t like anybody would mind—

“Don’t you dare come in here again, you _monster_!”

‘—mind a kid entering a normal food store?’ Renge frowned, seeing a little blond figure all but thrown to the ground in the middle of the road. He repressed the instinctual urge to leave his hiding place and help, believing someone else would help the kid up soon (whatever the kid had done, it wasn’t right to throw him).

But strangely, nobody seemed to care. A crowd formed around the boy and the shopkeeper, people doing nothing but watching and whispering among themselves. Renge crept up a little to check them, only to be thoroughly alarmed, and at the same time, perturbed. The faces looking at the kid were filled with _hatred_ and _contempt_. Just what had the blonde done to warrant such emotions?

He peeked at the blondie. The boy was short and thin (malnourished—oh the familiar), around Renge’s age. Renge already felt sympathy and understanding—he never resorted to stealing out of hunger, never went hungry to that extent, but he had been tempted to do sometimes. He mentally calculated how much pocket money he had saved for his books. It wasn’t a lot, but enough for two days' worth of food.

“I just wanted to buy something to eat! I didn’t steal anything, shopkeeper-san! Here, I have money!” the kid shouted, opening his weird frog-shaped pouch and pouring its content on the ground. (Renge felt slightly guilty for assuming his theft, also a bit of shame—the kid had more money than himself. But why was he so malnourished?)

The shopkeeper sneered. “Like monsters like you eat normal food. We don’t provide human meat here.”

(‘ **Now that's just mean, why would he say that?** ’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘ **Let's go punch him in the face!** ’ ‘Sakura…’)

“Why would I buy human meat, that's not food! I just want some cup ramen and milk!” the kid cried indignantly.

Something shifted in the shopkeeper’s face. “You want milk, ah?” He went back into the shop and exited again, holding a milk cartridge. Then he opened and dumped its whole content on the boy’s face that quickly switched from hopeful to shocked and _pained_.

‘ **That monster!** ’ Sakura cried, and Renge felt the same. He heard whispers of ‘It’s that kid,’ and ‘the monster,’ sneering and laughter. How could they laugh at this? Why were they doing this?

“Why are you treating me like this? What did I do! Dammit, I _hate_ you all!” the kid shouted bravely, but the snot and tears with milk droplets on his face made him a miserable sight.

However, nothing could invoke pity from the heartless shopkeeper. He even seemed to enjoy this, taking in all the praise and cheers he received from the crowd.

“I’ll show you a lesson, boy." The shopkeeper rolled his sleeves and lifted the kid by the collar. "The monsters like you shouldn’t have been born at all!”

‘ **Go, Renge, let's stop him!** ’

Renge ran out of the alley (without a plan, stupid) and made a beeline towards the duo. But before he could jump in to save him, he felt pressure on his shoulder and a force yanking him back. When he barely managed to regain his balance and not fall, he saw that someone was already there.

‘Finally!’ he thought, relieved that there was still somebody in the crowd who didn't just stay back and enjoy watching an adult hurting a child.

His hopes were dashed immediately though. The 'saviour' was just a short man swaying on unsteady legs and almost falling on the shopkeeper who dropped the kid in surprise. The intoxicated man hugged the dismayed shopkeeper, hollering loudly and waving a hand with a half-filled bottle.

“Mugoi-saaaaan! *hiccup* I misssht you a lot! Didja mish me?”

The shopkeeper made a disgusted face at saliva and alcohol dripping down the man’s chin and on his clothes.

“Who are you? Get away from me!” he tried to push the man away, but the shortie had a surprisingly powerful grip. Though the same could not be said about his legs as he seemed unable to stand a second more. So instead, he pressed his whole weight into the shopkeeper.

“Awwww, but you love me, Mugoi-san! Mogui? Mugoi? I forgot yar name!” the man cheerfully announced, spitting all over the shopkeeper’s face, then taking another big sip out of his bottle.

“Fuck—stop! Let me go! Who are you?”

Renge almost forgot what he initially intended to do while watching the weird turn of events. But when he looked to check on the blonde boy, he found he was already gone without a trace (the money on the ground disappeared too).

‘ **What happened?** ’ Sakura breathed, as confused as he was.

‘I don’t know. Somebody pulled me back, that drunk man arrived, and now the boy's gone.’

Sakura was silent for a moment, then commented hesitantly.

' **Don't you think it's strange? Nobody reacting at the scene of adult hurting a child, a hungry kid who's got money, a hand that pulled us back and a drunk in the midday?** '

'Too much of a coincidence, huh.'

' **The drunk conveniently stepped in before the situation turned worse.** '

'So perhaps not as drunk as he appears. But why would he then put such an act?'

' **The crowd, I suppose?** '

'Hm...'

' **Why don't we later just approach the man? If he's really drunk, we just have to run away quickly.** '

'I don't really like this idea...'

' **But we're curious, aren't we?** '

Renge contemplated Sakura’s suggestion while focusing on the situation.

* * *

The crowd was already half-dispersed, having better things to do than watch a drunkard causing a scene in the middle of the day. The shopkeeper and the man were still together, much to the former’s displeasure.

“What the fuck do you want!” the shopkeeper yelled half-desperately. He had tried to pry himself free multiple times to no success. There was no police patrol in sight—damn bastards were never there when you needed them.

Just as he was about to call for help, he was stopped by a heavy, oppressing aura. The instinctual fear overtook his brain and muscles, and his legs gave out. But he didn’t fall—instead, he was left hanging by a collar in that drunk—or not-so-drunk—man’s hand.

“What do I want?” the man drawled, his voice totally different from earlier. He still had the same appearance, a short bulky figure with an unassuming face completely red from intoxication, stinking of sweat and alcohol. But the shopkeeper knew better than to presume him harmless. They were in the _shinobi_ village, and he—the shopkeeper realized horrified—touched the village’s _taboo_.

He couldn’t let out even a squeak while the (presumed) shinobi hauled him inside his own shop, his brain screaming danger. Once there were no eyes watching, the whatever ninja magic transformation disappeared leaving behind a tall man clad in _Anbu_ gear and a mask. The fact that he was faceless and anonymous made this situation a lot more frightening.

“This—you aren’t authorized to—I didn’t do anything wrong!” the shopkeeper squealed, but the shinobi didn’t pay any heed, just strengthening the grip to choke.

“Listen up, Mugoi Kinshi.” the Anbu lifted the shopkeeper higher for intimidation effect. ”You almost broke the Hokage-sama’s gag order by repetitively calling the Target ‘monster,’ also tried to physically injure a _village citizen_. It’s your choice to sell or not to sell your services, but you’ll find yourself with revoked citizenship if you try this stunt again. Am I clear?”

Now the shopkeeper knew better than to say no. Regardless of knowing the shinobi wouldn’t kill him in the middle of the street in midday, the sheer intent that seeped into the atmosphere told him that he could easily change his mind and do away with rules and regulations.

“H-hai, sir! I’m sorry, this won’t happen again! Spare me, please!” the shopkeeper stammered an answer, shaking like a leaf.

“Good.”

As soon as Anbu dropped him, the shopkeeper scrambled away, hiding behind a counter as if that would protect him from the shinobi’s ire. The oppressive presence lingered for a moment that felt like ages, before silently exiting the shop as nothing happened. When the shopkeeper finally gathered the courage to stand about a half an hour later, he found no traces of the Anbu.

* * *

“You’re a shinobi, sir?” A shy voice greeted Kakashi as soon as he left the bastard’s shop.

In less than a second, he already stormed through all shinobi protocols for situations when your identity is discovered. But then he reminded himself he wasn’t in enemy territory but in Konohagakure, and his current mission required only hiding his presence from the Target. Nonetheless, becoming so lax because of low mission difficulty was an offense—one he wouldn’t pardon himself for. Even slight mistakes could result in the worst.

(A shinobi must always put his _everything_ into the mission.)

While mentally admonishing himself, he moved to see just how badly he screwed up (at least that wasn’t the Target’s voice). Then he met the clear green eyes and an incredibly familiar mop of hair(as if _pink_ hair could be anything but memorable).

He was too controlled to let his surprise show on his face, but he was still quite taken aback—no random shinobi or a perceptive civilian, but a mere child (around _Naruto’s_ age, his sentiment chimed before ruthlessly being squashed again) discovered his identity. It was also the same one that tried earlier to jump into the fray with the offender and the Target.

“Who are ya, kiddo?” he spoke in his disguised voice, including the drunken slur—although he figured it wouldn’t work.

“You’re not drunk.” the little girl stated softly, ignoring his question.

“I’m not,” he replied now without the slur.

“So, you’re a shinobi?”

“What makes you think I am?”

“Because you absolutely terrified the shopkeeper that he can’t even stand on his legs. Only a _shinobi_ would manage to that much intimidate someone inside a shinobi village.”

It was an interesting thought process, not without holes, but unfortunately with the correct conclusion. He may have to applaud her. She was like six years old?

“So what if I am?” he droned.

“Why didn’t you help that boy from earlier by revealing yourself as a shinobi?”

“I was in the middle of another mission that required disguise. I didn’t have time to change before jumping to help the kid.”

“All you did was poof in and out of disguise. Proving yourself a shinobi would be easier than playing drunk.”

For a shy and soft-spoken girl, she was strangely insistent (and clever). It was a pity he didn’t have the emotional capacity to humor her little interest.

“Aa, never heard a proverb saying curiosity killed the cat?”

Kakashi flashed a ‘mean’ grin while towering above her, trying his best to appear intimidating and unfriendly, a scary shinobi who has no patience for kids.

“Fine,” she grunted, though not really appearing frightened.

His grin turned slightly genuine (not that he would admit so). He almost found her cute—

“But tell me, how did you change your appearance?”

Demanding kids weren’t cute kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mugoi, means cruel, merciless, inhuman, Kinshi means short-sighted.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who commented, bookmarked, and gave this work kudos! I really appreciate it!
> 
> 17\. August 2020. Edit:
> 
> I rewrote the first chapter, changing some words and sentences and adding a few paragraphs that are entirely unnecessary for understanding the story but I just felt like writing them. This chapter I also changed slightly, little details that aren't too important for the story. Hopefully, now it's a little less cringy and weird.
> 
> I haven't forgotten this work (and the other). Just have been busy with life, lost a will to write, got horrified with what I already wrote etc. (excuses, excuses). No promises about when the next chapter's coming.


End file.
